Should I visit Kings Island or Holiday World?

It really depends on your style. KI is very much like Cedar Point with a diverse collection of coasters and other rides. They obviously have the brand new Mystic Timbers wooden roller coaster along with Banshee (B&M invert), Diamondback (B&M hyper), and Beast (woodie) as the highlights. They also have an assortment of other lesser coasters and flat rides.

Holiday World is all about the woodies with three (3) of the top 30-50 wooden roller coasters in the same park (Voyage, Legend, and Raven). Add Thunderbird (still the only launched B&M wing coaster), and you've got a great collection of coasters to enjoy.

Both parks have connected water parks that are included with a standard admission (Holiday World's isn't quite as separated from the rest of the park as KI's is). HW has free parking, free Pepsi products throughout your day, and free sunscreen. Both are pretty equal in terms of food and entertainment. I'd say it's a bit of a toss up in my book. I personally would go to KI to ride Mystic Timbers (haven't been on it yet), but if you haven't been on Thunderbird, that is worth a trip too.

Customer service and value at Holiday World > Kings Island, IMHO. It also feels much different from the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks, with its wooded, rural setting. So if you're looking for a change of pace, definitely Holiday World.

But if you're looking at a Cedar Point trip or two this season, as well, consider the Platinum Pass at Kings Island, which gets you into all the Cedar Fair parks.

That is an extremely tough call, as you're picking between two very different parks that are among the best at what they offer. I visited both parks in 2014 and preferred Holiday World, but it is not a park everyone will fall in love with. Assuming you've never visited either park, I'd recommend the following:

-If you are looking for the most interesting roller coasters, the best waterpark, or care more about the complete experience than just the rides, I'd recommend Holiday World. While Kings Island has more roller coasters and a better variety of rides, the quality of Holiday World's 4 big coasters is better (Voyage alone is better than anything at Kings Island). If you're a waterpark fan, Holiday World's is the best I've visited and contains several slides that would be the signature attraction at most other waterparks. As for the overall park experience, Holiday World has a nicer setting, better food, and better staff than Kings Island, in addition to offering free parking, sunscreen, and soft drinks. The whole park has a very different feel from the major chain parks and is significantly less crowded, though it is smaller and a bit difficult to spend a full day at if you don't visit the waterpark.

-Other than Cedar Point, Kings Island is probably the best park in the Cedar Fair chain. The park offers an impressive ride selection with plenty of attractions for everyone. While they do have a large number of roller coasters (and actually have a better variety than Cedar Point IMO), other than Beast they will be similar to what you have experienced at other parks (not to say they are bad...Banshee, Diamondback, Flight of Fear, Firehawk, and presumably Mystic Timbers are all great rides). I didn't visit Kings Island's waterpark, and while it looked good I'm not sure it would be worth the time to visit if you only have one day. Kings Island does get pretty crowded, so expect hour-plus waits for the headliners. Food and theming are similar to what you'd find at most corporate regional parks, though both are a bit better than average.

Overall, I'd say that if you are looking for the best theme park experience, go to Holiday World. If you care more about getting on rides and less about other things, go to Kings Island. You can't go wrong with either park, just make sure you have an expectation of what type of park you'll be visiting.

To me, at least half the fun of a Holiday World visit is the water park, but I am not much of a water park fan. Therefore, I would choose Kings Island, which I rate as one of the best amusement parks I have ever visited. Plus, Beast at night > Voyage in the day (HW is seldom open late enough to ride Voyage in the dark).

Thank you for the responses guys.. It was very helpful.. Now our group is kinda split into people who are interested more in water rides and roller-coasters creating more confusion. we will see what can be done.